Soccer club looks to open up field in season opener against U of U
Fresh off of two preseason victories, the Utah State University men’s soccer club will open its regular season Friday against the University of Utah at 6 p.m. on Tower Field.
With eight returning players from last year’s squad and the addition of several newcomers with a lot of experience, Head Coach Carlos Coirolo said the Aggies are primed to enjoy a breakout season.
That is if they are able to continue to develop into a cohesive unit, he said.
“I think we have a lot of talent, we just have to put it together,” he said. “We’re still working on it less than a week before our first game, but things are getting better.”
When the Aggies take the field against the Utes, Coirolo said it is imperative USU stretches the Ute defense by using the entire field on offense. If the Aggies can do this and change the point of attack effectively, he said, they will be able to create better scoring opportunities.
“I would like them to open up the field – to spread the defense a little bit,” Coirolo said. “We’re not doing that yet. We’re playing too many short balls in the middle [of the field].”
Among the veteran players returning for the Aggies are forward James Barnard, goalie Bryan Easterman and midfielder Jesse Wagner. Coirolo said he expects these three players to lead the team.
“I would consider those three guys three great leaders,” he said.
Another player Coirolo said he is expecting big things from is Paul Sanders. Not only does Sanders bring soccer savvy to the field, Coirolo said, he also brings Division I experience.
Sanders was a player for St. Joseph’s University before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and transferring to USU.
“He’s [Sanders] a heck of a player, and he could be a good leader,” Coirolo said. “I know he talks a lot on the field; He communicates a lot.”
While this is Utah State’s first regular season game, Utah will enter Friday’s contest with a game under its belt. Unfortunately for the Utes, it was a game they would rather forget as they were thumped by Weber State University, Coirolo said.
“I watched the University of Utah play Weber last Saturday, and they were not as strong as I thought they would be,” he said.
Although the Aggies have yet to play a regular season game, they will enter Friday’s game battle-tested as they went 2-0 in preseason action.
USU won its preseason opener Aug. 28 against Cache United, a locally based club team. Following their victory over Cache United, the Aggies traveled to Ogden to play the Weber State B team.
Down 2-0 early in the first half, a short-handed Utah State squad scored three unanswered goals as the Aggies won 3-2 in a game Coirolo said they showed a lot of heart.
“It was a really good effort [by us],” Coirolo said. “It was very hot and we only had 14 guys, and it was pretty tough. The guys were really, really tired, but I told them yesterday [Wednesday] that I was really pleased with [their effort].”
Friday’s game will also mark Coirolo’s first regular season game as the Aggies’ head coach.
With Coirolo at the helm, the club has a head coach for the first time in two years. Thanks to the encouragement of Brent Anderson, an assistant coach on the USU women’s soccer team, Coirolo decided to give coaching the men’s team a try.
– jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu